Evan Luebbe

Rowan vs. Roman

The Roman Reigns storyline has been built over the past month so that the final reveal is huge (and will probably take place on the first SD Live on Fox on October 4th right before the Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View). It would feel incomplete if Rowan turned out to be the man responsible for the attacks on Roman Reigns. Nonetheless, this will still undoubtedly be the biggest match/opportunity of Rowan’s career. He’d better make the most of it because he will probably never get an opportunity like this again if it doesn’t go well.

I don’t know if I’ve ever admitted this before, but I was utterly confused by Bayley’s wishy-washy promo. She is teetering on the edge of babyface territory and not quite willing to take the final step into heel territory. As a result, Charlotte Flair along with the rest of the WWE universe doesn’t know how to react. Sasha Banks has quite a bit to teach Bayley on the art of being a heel, because she is so good at it.

The developments in the King of the Ring tournament turned out to be rather shocking, but I have to admit that it has been booked brilliantly. First of all, changing Elias’ music was a great idea because it is already commanding the audience to take his character more seriously. He has brought a much more aggressive demeanor in recent weeks and this will hopefully serve to create a niche for him as a heel. It also helps him that he is quite a bit bigger than many superstars on the roster because the wrestling industry has trended in recent years towards fans demanding men and women who are more athletic and agile then they were say a decade ago. The future looks like it could be potentially brighter than it has been for the last couple of years for Elias.

 

Chad Gable got the most surprising victory this week. He also received a massive pop from the crowd, and this very well may do some good in terms of his booking in the future. One thing that can be said for certain is that it’s a pretty safe bet that the KOTR final match at Clash of Champions will tear the house down and it is very likely to steal the show, because you can’t go wrong if you have Baron Corbin, Samoa Joe, Ricochet, Elias, and Chad Gable to choose from.

Respect has to be given to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross for working two matches this week on both Raw and SD Live. The team of Fire and Desire will likely be next in line for an opportunity at the Women’s Tag Team Championships at Clash of Champions because they pinned the champions. There is still not a significant amount of direction for these titles.

Slide Note: I still have not given up hope for Kevin Owens to receive a major push leading up to ‘Mania, creative just doesn’t have anything for him right now immediately following SummerSlam.

Bayley Heel Turn

After seeing this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw play out, WWE fans can conclude that Bayley is turning heel and aligning with Sasha Banks. WWE creative is having Bayley maintain her loyalty and close connection with Sasha.

I have two main thoughts about this:

  • It’s refreshing to see a champion in WWE going through with a character change in the face/heel dynamic while they are in the midst of their title reign as opposed to waiting to make this switch until they lose the belt, which is usually what happens, but
  • I’m not sure how well this will work out because Bayley has been built up so well as a babyface.

From WWE’s perspective, you never know how a drastic change like this will be perceived until you try it out. Even though this match got a main event spot, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross felt like an afterthought because they were not a part of the storyline that was being focused on.

The reason Baron Corbin should be a consideration to win the King of the Ring tournament is that he consistently draws passionate reactions from the WWE universe. It does not matter if those reactions are positive or negative (most of them are negative. Corbin annoys me just as much as anyone else). What matters most is that he puts butts in seats and gets fans riled up which is exactly what WWE is looking for in the end.

Samoa Joe’s push to potentially become Universal Champion needs to start very soon given that he is already 40 years old (if WWE is serious about it). It’s not too late by any means, as we’ve seen it done recently by AJ Styles at about the same point in his career. Joe is one of those guys who always seems like a legitimate contender no matter what his booking situation looks like. Anyway, a great avenue to get his push started to get into contention for the Universal Championship could be through winning the King of the Ring tournament.

We all know Ricochet is going to be a huge star, because he’s being pushed like one very early in his career.

AJ Styles was very satirical in his promo on Monday Night Raw, giving Michael Cole a little attitude by ignoring him and pointing out that the only reason Braun Strowman got a title opportunity is that he looked at the Universal Championship. I also feel I need to address the possibility of Styles being added to the Universal Championship match at Clash of Champions, which would be a fantastic idea.

This could mean the United States Championship will be put on the backburner for the next couple months, but not to worry because every trend in WWE goes in cycles. This is also a sign of just how highly AJ Styles is viewed in the eyes of Vince McMahon. I don’t know if Vince originally viewed AJ in this light, but he deeply resonated with the WWE universe from the time he debuted in the Royal Rumble match in 2016. This week on Raw, we also seemed to get virtual confirmation that The Fiend Bray Wyatt will interfere in the Universal Title match at Clash of Champions and presumably go on to challenge the Universal Champion at Hell in a Cell.

Side Note: Congratulations to Walter on retaining his WWE United Kingdom Championship against Tyler Bate at NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff. The entire event was very well done and included some excellent matches. It also had to be a nice change of pace for Cesaro working the event.

Also, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Chris Jericho winning the AEW World Championship. I need to acknowledge them because they will indirectly serve as competition on Wednesday nights to WWE (even though they don’t really want to compete with or be compared to any other company). I love what they’re doing by trying to set themselves apart and do things differently than any other company has done before. I can also name at least five of their top superstars who formerly worked for WWE.

Categories RAW

The Fiend Universal Championship Match at HIAC?

The Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California (which will be hosting the Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View) may have pulled a Paul Heyman and given WWE fans a spoiler by announcing in a tweet that Bray Wyatt will be facing either Seth Rollins or Braun Strowman in a Hell in a Cell match.

Personally, I don’t think this is a great idea (it’s definitely not what I would do because Bray does not necessarily need a title to remain relevant right now) but it’s not a bad idea by any stretch of the imagination. It might be more interesting to see Wyatt go up against Strowman because of their history with the Wyatt Family (Strowman was first introduced to the main roster as a member), but WWE may not be quite ready to have Seth’s Universal Championship reign come to an end.

Rollins and Strowman – Double Duty at COC

I can’t think of a better way to spend my 23rd birthday than by thoroughly enjoying Monday Night Raw. Before I get into anything wrestling-related, I want to start out by addressing Andrew Luck’s rather abrupt retirement from the NFL (he is the son of Oliver Luck, who is the Commissioner of the XFL and will therefore be working very closely with Vince McMahon in the future). This brought up a few memories of wrestlers/sports entertainers whose careers have ended early under unfortunate circumstances.

  • Magnum T.A. had real potential back in the ‘80s and bookers were planning on grooming him to become the next face of NWA as the World Heavyweight Champion, but that all changed when he was in a car accident in 1986 and the entire right side of his body was paralyzed four months.
  • The Von Erich family also comes to mind as a number of them struggled with alcohol addiction among other things. Kerry was in my mind the most talented member of this family.
  • And we can never forget that Ric Flair’s career almost ended before it even really got started. He was in a major plane crash in the ‘70s which nearly ended his career. Fortunately, we all got to experience the second coming of the “Nature Boy” after Buddy Rogers. Flair is truly a legend in the business of sports entertainment.

It looks like Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman will be working double duty at Clash of Champions because they will be defending the Raw Tag Team Championships against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode in addition to their Universal Championship match against each other.

The Universal Championship match between Seth and Braun could have easily been predicted based on what has happened the last couple weeks, but it’s a nice surprise to see Ziggler and Roode emerge as Raw Tag Team Championship contenders. It’s good to see that WWE is prioritizing the booking of Ziggler and Roode and is actually showing that they care enough about their position on the card to give them a meaningful spot rather than just turning them into jobbers, which is what I feared might happen. This is a refreshing change for WWE to be making them a priority.

Sasha Banks has brought a new cocky attitude to go with her new look, but as far as I’m concerned, she’s one of the few in WWE who has the swagger to back it up. There is clearly something about her character that fans deeply resonate with and can connect to, and this enables her character to be able to be overly flamboyant yet still accepted.

I have absolutely no idea who is going to win the King of the Ring tournament. My second pick to win it, Drew McIntyre, got beat by Ricochet (who is going to be a massive star. He has only been on the main roster for six months and is already one of the best). At this point, Baron Corbin might honestly get all the way to the final. I find him just as annoying as the next person, but WWE keeps pushing him because he incites a lot of energy out of the WWE universe. He receives a passionate reaction; it doesn’t matter if that reaction is particularly positive or negative.

Cedric Alexander is someone to watch because he may receive at least a small push in the coming weeks. He has looked particularly good in his last two or three appearances on Monday Night Raw, and his victory this week over Cesaro, a very highly regarded in-ring talent, will absolutely do him all sorts of favors. I’m not saying that he will be headlining pay-per-views in the foreseeable future or anything crazy like that, but I do definitely think that he could become a Kofi Kingston-type of reliable asset (obviously before Kofi became WWE Champion).

It looks like we may have to wait until the Undisputed Era debuts on the main roster to have another truly dominant heel faction. The OC may not be as dominant as we thought since Gallows and Anderson were sacrificed this week. AJ books strong but he needs help from his boys. Unfortunately, the WWE bookers have never viewed Anderson and Gallows as highly as the bookers in Japan did (this is probably at least partially because Gallows is a Strowman-level freak to Japanese people because they are typically smaller than Americans). All hope is not lost though for the OC, as Gallows and Anderson will likely win back the tag titles in a month or two minimum.

Side Note: The Undertaker is reportedly scheduled to appear on SmackDown Live in from Madison Square Garden on September 10, right before Clash of Champions. It would be reasonable to assume based on this – that The Undertaker will make an appearance and possibly even have a match at the pay-per-view. This is not a fact, but don’t be surprised if that’s the route WWE decides to go.

Categories RAW

Irony with Roman

There is some irony occurring in terms of the booking of Roman Reigns. WWE has tried so hard for a number of years to get Roman to a point where he is universally excepted by the WWE universe as WWE’s top dog.

This is the ironic part though: as soon as WWE stopped trying so hard to get him over and projecting a sense of desperation that was palpable to the WWE universe, he began receiving the positive reactions that WWE dreamed of for him all along because WWE let go of the reigns a little bit in terms of his push and they decided to let the WWE universe determine his spot on the card with their reactions, and it is working beautifully.

Fans began reenacting more favorably towards Reigns when he made his return after putting his leukemia into remission a second time. This turned the reaction he received from the WWE universe into a universally positive one, in part because of the fact that many fans, including myself, could relate to him when his career was put in jeopardy.

In summation, Roman Reigns is exactly where he needs to be right now, and WWE is doing a fantastic job of no longer forcing his push. Reigns will undoubtedly work his way into him title contention again, but WWE should be in no hurry to make this happen. It needs to be an organic rise to the top, so the company doesn’t risk a repeat of the last 3 ½ – 4 years in which fans felt Reigns was forced down their throats.

205 Live Possibly Scrapped, Strowman Conversation

Recent reports are suggesting that 205 Live will either:

  1. Be completely scrapped from WWE programming due to the additional hour that is being added to NXT TV with its recent move to the USA Network
  2. Or, it could be absorbed as a part of SmackDown Live when it moves to Fox Network, because Fox reportedly would like to see SD LIVE move from two hours to three.

It is also worth noting that Braun Strowman had a deep conversation during a production meeting with Vince McMahon in which the two men found common ground. This connection largely influenced Strowman’s decision to sign a new contract not too long ago. As a result, superstars will be Getting These Hands for years to come.

This is probably a big part of why “The Monster Among Men” is receiving more of a push as of late, winning the Raw Tag Team Titles with Seth Rollins and potentially receiving a Universal Championship opportunity at Clash of Champions on September 15.

Sheamus Retirement: Possible or Probable?

Unfortunately, WrestleMania may have been Sheamus’ last match in WWE. It was iffy for him to even be able to make it to ‘mania, and fortunately he did. It is fully understandable why he would retire, considering that he is 41 years old, has proven to be a vital asset to WWE for about a decade, and has endured countless injuries along with chronic spinal stenosis. He has also accomplished nearly every notable accolade in WWE, being a Royal Rumble winner, Mr. Money in the Bank, King of the Ring, and being a multiple-time world champion. He has held every WWE title with the exception of the Intercontinental Championship. It is a real shame because, with the workouts he has been putting himself through, there is no doubt that he is in better shape than he has ever been in during his WWE career.

Sheamus is a surefire Hall of Famer and will be remembered as an extremely reliable superstar who made countless sacrifices to ensure the success of the WWE machine, as so many men before have. The future of the company is in great hands, however and his heart should be full no matter what the outcome may be… some think he may return.

2/3 Undisputed NXT

This felt like the right time for the Street Profits to lose the NXT Tag Titles. They are starting to make appearances regularly on Monday Night Raw, and they are also incredibly authentic and over in NXT, so there is not much of anything left for them to accomplish on the black and gold brand.

It is also a great idea to make The Undisputed Era champions. Maybe Roderick Strong could also win the North American Championship from Velveteen Dream at NXT Takeover: War Games III in November, giving The Undisputed Era all the gold in NXT as has been their goal for a couple of years now. This would be a great way to introduce NXT to the USA Network since The Undisputed Era is so entertaining.

Dominik Dijakovic and Keith Lee truly transcended and raised the bar in terms of what we should expect from men that big.

It was also a nice surprise to see Rhea Ripley come over from NXT UK to challenge Shayna Baszler at Takeover: War Games III.

Categories NXT

Reigns vs. Bryan

It looks like Roman Reigns and DB will finally throw down for the first time in about 4 1/2 years at Clash of Champions. From a fan’s perspective, it seems like it was a case of extremely poor planning on WWE’s parts to not orchestrate a match between these two at SummerSlam and therefore not have one of the top superstars in the company participate at the second-biggest event of the year. This may have all been orchestrated, however, on purpose.

Let me Explain: WWE could have purposely set up the timing of this storyline so that it could culminate with the big reveal of Roman’s attacker on SmackDown’s debut episode on the Fox Network on October 4th. WWE will make this episode huge (arguably bigger than the 20th anniversary episode).

Chad Gable’s character may be repackaged soon under a new name: Shorty G (that’s probably why Shelton Benjamin was calling him Shorty in the ring on SD Live this week. I feel Gable is in a very similar position to that of Robert Roode on Raw. They are both in the process of being revitalized and prioritized more in the eyes of WWE. Roode is now teaming with Dolph Ziggler and will be challenging Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman for the Raw Tag Team Championships. I’ve also heard Gable will be teaming with Benjamin more consistently in the future, and this may even lead to them getting a Smackdown Tag Team Championship opportunity (again, remember how great of a team they were a couple of years ago) and winning the belts from The New Day.

Speaking of The New Day, Big E absolutely has a legit future with WWE and as a legitimate major title contender, as was evidenced this week in his match with Randy Orton. He should obviously stay with The New Day for now, because they are still too over for WWE to break them up now.

Shinsuke Nakamura definitely needs someone who can articulate for him and make the Intercontinental Championship relevant, and Sami Zayn is great on the mic so he is a great choice to do this. It’s just unfortunate though that someone who is so good in the ring has been funneled out of what he is best at, at least for now. From an optimistic perspective, maybe this will serve as a way for him to connect with the WWE universe on a deeper level and it will make them care more about him.

Side Note: The first and best match of the night was between Buddy Murphy and Ali. This was a big win for Ali since Murphy defeated Daniel Bryan just one week prior. The future of WWE is in great hands with performers such as these. Kevin Owens also redeemed himself by giving Elias a Stunner this week after looking a little soft last week, apologizing to Shane McMahon.

Lacey Evans is quite clearly overhyping herself. She’s not Charlotte Flair, she hasn’t proven herself enough yet to automatically be placed into the conversation for a title opportunity.

Lastly, Randy Orton has been able to elevate The Revival very successfully after forming an alliance with them just a few weeks ago. The Revival will look back on their careers at the end and realize just how big of a “thank you” they owe Orton.

Memorable King of the Ring Tournament Needed

Personally, I feel that WWE desperately needs to add a significant amount of meaning to this year’s King of the Ring Tournament. I mention this since they have billed this year’s edition as possibly one that will create another huge superstar like Stone Cold Steve Austin (this is why my pick to win the tournament was Kevin Owens. He has unfortunately been eliminated by Elias with the help of Shane McMahon, who is not going anywhere anytime soon).

Someone like Drew McIntyre, who is my second pick, could still win it and be subsequently given a number one contender’s match for the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman after presumably losing a title match to Seth Rollins at Clash of Champions.

This number one contender’s match could take place on the September 23rd episode of Monday Night Raw, so both men have a little time to rest after the pay-per-view. From WWE’s perspective, the act of going through with this plan would help bring a significant amount of prestige to the King of the Ring Tournament and make it a really coveted accolade in WWE.

The King of the Ring Tournament was viewed as a big deal in the 1990s and the 2000s, but it hasn’t been as much of a priority in this decade. It would be a real asset to the business of WWE if the tournament was prioritized more. That could begin this year, and this would be excellent for the business.

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Disclosure: This site is not affiliated with WWE – just a diehard fan writing commentary on events.
 
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